Why Certify

1
Why Certify?

• MOS Certification
• Brad Grabham
• Laura Wiedeman

2
A Huge Need Opportunity

• Over 250 million Microsoft Office users across
  the globe
• 95 of all businesses standardize on Microsoft
  Office
• However, the average user only understands 20 of
  the functionality available in the Office suite

3
Overview of Certiport
Certiport is the leading provider of global,
performance-based certification programs and
services designed to enable individual success
and lifetime advancement through certification

• Established in 1997
• Exclusive worldwide administrator of the
  Microsoft Office Specialist and IC³ certification
  programs
• Use concurrent and simulation technologies

4
Overview of Certiport (cont.)

• Worldwide Statistics
• Close to 2.1 million validated exams delivered
• Over 1,400,000 certifications issued
• The Microsoft Office Specialist program is the
  fastest growing computer certification
• 9,000 testing centers
• 40,000 exams monthly
• 18 languages
• 114 countries
• 47 Courseware publishers

5
Why Certify?

• Advance in education and career
• Increase productivity
• Stand out from the competition
• Portable proof of skills

6
Why Certify?

• Certification creates a workforce capable of
  delivering higher service levels
• -Prometric Study
• Even in recession, value of certifications has
  held steady
• -www.eweek.com/itcareerscenter

7
(Re-insert 60 second video)
8
Microsoft Office Specialist

• Independent confirmation of an individuals
  mastery of Microsoft Office programs
• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook and
  Project
• Certification of true abilities via realistic,
  performance-based tests
• The only credential of its kind provided by
  Microsoft
• Rapid growth of certifications worldwide since
  July, 1998
• Year-over-year growth 1999 553 2000 203
  2001 161

9
Testing Method

• Questions
• Based upon objectives or tasks defined by
  Subject Matter Experts
• Correspond to real world tasks
• Written by professional item writers
• Validated by professional psychometricians

10
Testing Method

• Exams
• Performance-based exams (45 minutes)
• Core level certification meets basic features in
  Microsoft Office applications
• Expert level certification meets advanced
  features in Microsoft Office applications

11
Sample Excel Test
12
Sample Word Test
13
Certification Benefits

• Provides individuals with credentials indicating
  mastery of Microsoft Office programs
• Empowers and expands opportunities
• Professional benefits
• Credible proof of Office proficiency
• Key differentiator in competitive job market
• Student benefits Recognized credential for
  college admission and job applications
• Distinguishes student as having business
  technology skills and the desire to excel
• Opportunity to earn transferable college credits

14
Benefits For Employers

• Signifies an employees ability to leverage
  Microsoft Office programs for organizational
  success
• Serves as a reliable performance-oriented
  standard of competency
• Streamlines the applicant screening process
• Identifies individuals that actually possess,
  rather than profess, critical business desktop
  skills
• Identifies employees who can make a difference
• A visible example of skills enhancement to fellow
  workers increases professional credibility

15
Improving the Workplace

• The following 4 slides highlight the
  effectiveness of Microsoft Office Specialist on
  the job
• Data from a survey of 13,700 Microsoft Office
  Specialist examinees and their supervisors
• Survey administered by independent 3rd party
  research organization

16
Improves Competence

• Individuals who have successfully completed
  Microsoft Office Specialist certification have
  more competence in work performed
• 80 of employees felt Microsoft Office Specialist
  increased their competence with Microsoft Office
  applications
• 89 of supervisors stated Microsoft Office
  Specialist certification resulted in increased
  employee competence with Microsoft Office
  applications

17
Increases Productivity

• Individuals who have successfully completed
  Microsoft Office Specialist certification show an
  overall increase in productivity
• 73 of employees and 85 of supervisors feel
  Microsoft Office Specialist certification has a
  positive impact on employee productivity

18
Raises Employee Credibility

• Individuals who have successfully completed
  Microsoft Office Specialist certification are
  more credible
• 86 of supervisors feel Microsoft Office
  Specialist certification has a positive effect on
  employee professional credibility among
  co-workers
• 80 of supervisors feel Microsoft Office
  Specialist certification has a positive effect on
  employee professional credibility with customers
  and clients

19
Recruitment and Promotion

• Microsoft Office Specialist has a positive
  effect on recruitment and promotion
• 71 of supervisors feel Microsoft Office
  Specialist certification is advantageous to
  employees considered in hiring, promotion, and
  advancement decisions

20
Benefits to Educators

• Students gain the skills, confidence and
  credentials needed to excel academically and
  professionally
• - Signifies students ability to apply Office
  knowledge and skills to common academic and
  business tasks
• - Gives students a recognized and
  highly-credible credential
• The institution becomes a technology leader
• Ready-to-use, modular examination format
• - Reliable method for evaluating the
  effectiveness of computer training
• - Provides faculty with a method to increase and
  verify their own skills

21
A Rapidly Growing List of Schools
Over 2,000 educational institutions
Fullerton College Catawba Valley CC Cuyahoga
CC Delaware Tech CC Hudson Valley CC Oklahoma
City CC Loyalist College Spokane CC Jamestown
CC Southwest Texas Junior College Santa Barbara
City College Hilton High School Red River High
School Potomac Senior High School Yakima School
Dist.
Pepperdine University Notre Dame
University Clemson University Northern Illinois
University Texas AM University Montana State
University Texas Christian University University
of Michigan University of Arkansas University of
Akron Roosevelt University University of
Texas Louisiana State University University of
Kentucky Albany State University
22
What Employers are Saying

• "When our employees earn Microsoft Office
  certification, they prove to themselves and our
  clients that they can effectively troubleshoot
  and provide solutions to clients over the phone.
• Certification is an integral part of our
  Microsoft Office training program.
• Kyle Root,
• IT training manager for EDS Global Support
  Services

23
Companies with Certified Employees

• UPS
• Wells Fargo Financial
• Cigna Health Care
• GMAC
• Ikon Office Solutions
• Albertsons
• Briggs Stratton
• New York Life Asset Mgmt
• Chrysler Financial Corporation
• KB Home
• Target Group, Inc.
• Centex Homes

• American Express
• FedEx
• JP Morgan Bank
• Levi Strauss and Company
• McDonalds Corporation
• Pepsi-Cola
• Pfizer
• Scholastic Inc.
• Sprint PCS
• Sysco Foods
• Verizon
• US Bancorp

24
What Your Peers are Saying

• "As an industry-recognized standard,
  certification shows employers that a candidate is
  proficient in using Microsoft applications. The
  clear result is a stronger bottom line through
  dollars saved, dollars earned, or both."
• Jeff Johnson
• Associate Dean of Computer Training, Bellevue
  Community College

25
Certiport Exam Delivery System

• Candidates take exam in proctored environment
• Any computer lab can be a testing center
• Candidates receive printed score results
• Results are uploaded to global candidate database
• Certiport delivers certificate to passing
  candidates
• Candidates can view their online Digital
  Transcripts

26
Digital Transcript Service

• Secure, authenticated website
• Candidates can view exam and certification
  results online at any time
• Instantaneous results
• Access can be granted for educators, employers,
  and staffing agencies to verify candidate results

27
Sample Digital Transcript
28
Enhance Programs with Certification

• Test Out options
• Course placement
• Final course exams
• Teacher professional development
• Community workforce development

29
Focus on St. Cloud

• Faculty and Staff concerns
• Limitations of computer knowledge hold them back,
  looking to improve skills by becoming savvy with
  their systems.
• Lack of knowledge creates time-consuming projects
  that could be vastly improved.
• Use It or Lose It mentality.

30
Focus on St. Cloud

• Faculty and Staff concerns
• Want department to pay for some or all of
  certification costs.
• Have careful selection of who gets trained and
  certified.
• Check with department heads to see who would
  benefit from certification.

31
Focus on St. Cloud

• Faculty and Staff concerns
• Challenging to do a department training during
  daytime because not everyone can be out of the
  office at once. Night-class format??
• Vary the levels of training in a departmentonly
  what is necessary for each person.

32
Focus on St. Cloud

• Ideas for marketing to students
• Offer extra credit to students for attending open
  lab hours to practice skills.
• Have certification be part of a class
• A special fee for class pays for the exam
• Class meetings focus on training/assignments in
  the selected program (e.g. Excel).
• Final exam is certification test